MS NOW guest 'struggles to see what' should be celebrated for US 250th
A regular presence at MS NOW sees no reason in ringing in the US's 250th anniversary joyfully, he told Morning Joe's Mika Brzezinski on Tuesday.
Distinguished Princeton University Professor Eddie Glaude pointed to systemic racism and Donald Trump as purported proof.
'I’ve been struggling with, what are we actually celebrating?' he said to start.
Brzezinski, 59, had just finished asking the question herself while plugging Glaude's new book.
'I was thinking about the [Trump v.] Slaughter [Supreme Court] case,' Glaude, 57, continued.
The Supreme Court rejected an attempt by the president to fire Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook on Monday but allowed him to remove a member of the Federal Trade Commission, Rebecca Kelly Slaughter.
Glaude claimed the ruling still gave the President 'outsized executive power.'
The rant that followed echoed passages in Glaude's book, America, U.S.A.: How Race Shadows the Nation's Anniversaries.
Its opening line asserts: 'I do not love America, and never have, especially now.'
Princeton Professor Eddie Glaude offered his opinion on the current state of the country to MS NOW's Mika Brzezinski on Tuesday's Morning Joe
Glaude gripe over racism he says is rife in the US, policies 'destroying the country,' and the 'cult of personality' behind Donald Trump
'I’m worried about what that means for American democracy,' he told Brzezinski of the Trump v. Slaughter verdict seen Monday.
'I’m thinking about the gutting of the Voting Rights Act, the redrawing of districts in the South,' he said.
'I’m thinking about the court’s decision around TPS (temporary protected status) and immigration policies that harken back to the 1920s,' Glaude continued.
A Supreme Court decision on Thursday gave the administration the power to mass deport those with TPS even if they have been living and working legally in the United States for more than a decade.
Glaude separately accused Trump of attempting to force his 'own kind of cult of personality' on the country 'with the celebration of the nation,' which Brzezinski earlier on noted has been planned by a bipartisan commission for some 10 years.
He wondered again, aloud: 'What exactly are we celebrating?
'Is it a storybook version of America? This idea that, you know, we are a beacon of freedom and that our perfection was secured in our salvation?
'Or are we looking at the way in which our ideals don’t match up to our practices, our current practices,' Glaude said.
'I’m worried about what that means for American democracy,' he told Brzezinski while plugging his new book, which opens with the disclaimer 'I do not love America, and never have, especially now'
A communal festival and parade is set to take place in Washington, DC, on Saturday. Revelers already descended on the National Mall over the weekend for the 'Great American State Fair'
'And so I’m really going into July 4th, grappling with whether or not the ugly ghost of our country have us by the nape of the neck, Mika.'
Brzezinski followed up by asking whether the historian still had 'hope at a moment like this?' She cited 'the things we've overcome as a country.'
'I don’t know,' Glaude answered in a troubled tone. 'How can I put this?' he asked, before providing a dire prognosis.
'The country that made my life possible is being destroyed right in front of me.'
The President is set to visit Mount Rushmore this Friday to kick off the America 250 festivities.
A communal festival and parade in Washington, DC, on Saturday - July 4 - will follow.
Another MS NOW guest, progressive podcaster Akilah Hughes, went on MS NOW last week to warn that she believes the United States may not be around for another 250 years due to the state of the country under the current administration.
Earlier this month, Trump celebrated America’s 250th with a UFC event staged on the White House’s South Lawn.
He said in a video posted to Truth Social back in December: '2026 will be a celebration of America like no other, honoring our nation and all of its glory.'
Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
